Saturday, November 22, 2008
Roanoke businesses celebrate their 'green' initiatives
Thirteen major employers are members of the Clean and Green Business Coalition.
The latest from The Ticker blog
The Roanoke Rescue Mission and Orvis' huge order-filling and distribution center in Roanoke collaborate these days in an effort that yields a double dose of green.
Vermont-based Orvis donates products to the Rescue Mission ranging from apparel to fishing waders that are sent back as returns to the Roanoke facility but don't pass restocking standards.
As a result, Orvis cuts its landfill loads, benefiting the environment and saving money on related dumping fees. And the Rescue Mission's thrift store harvests greenbacks by selling the company's slightly flawed but high-quality goods (with labels removed).
A news conference in downtown Friday morning celebrated a host of environmentally friendly, or "green," business practices adopted by 13 of the city's top employers. The businesses are members of the Clean and Green Business Coalition, an effort launched in March.
The coalition works to encourage companies to consider how to adapt and adjust operations to emphasize conservation, recycling, energy efficiency, monitoring and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other green practices.
Gwen Mason, a member of the Roanoke City Council, and Stan Breakell, president of Breakell Inc., helped organize the coalition. Mason also has been a leader of the city's own Clean and Green Campaign.
She said recycling by city schools has increased from an average of about 3 tons a month to about 22 tons a month.
The solid waste department's roster of businesses recycling in partnership with it has gone from 34 to 104, she said.
Carilion Clinic Vice President N.L. Bishop told the group that Carilion "recently entered into a significant contract with a local consultant" to identify ways to increase energy conservation in the health care provider's numerous facilities and to reduce energy costs and the company's greenhouse gas emissions.
"It's right in line with our mission of improving the health of our communities," Bishop said.
Both Mike Rigney, vice president of operations at Orvis' 300,000-square-foot facility in Roanoke, and Dale Lee, vice president and corporate secretary of Roanoke Gas Co., commended city officials for their commitment to operating green.
Rigney said Roanoke is setting a sustainability standard for the region and the nation.
He and others emphasized also that businesses can save money by being green.
Orvis has cut kilowatt-hour consumption of electricity by 39 percent, Rigney said, after shifting to more energy-efficient lighting.
And, its partnership with the Rescue Mission has reduced Orvis' landfill loads by "as much as 50 percent," he said.
"We have high standards for returning items to stock," he said.
Joy Sylvester-Johnson, the mission's chief executive officer, said the Orvis partnership has helped boost sales in the nonprofit's thrift store and provide clothes for its giveaway program. Donations from Orvis include clothes, fishing waders, dog beds and other products, she said.
If a clothing item is too far gone to wear, it becomes part of the mission's rags recycling business, she said.
She encouraged people of all incomes to shop at the store, noting that every dollar spent there can "feed about nine people in our lunch line."
Sylvester-Johnson said the mission has recycled many materials for years. But its list of recyclables is growing, she said, noting Friday that she had just emerged from a related two-hour meeting with Skip Decker, director of the city's solid waste department.
Of course, she said, the Rescue Mission's ultimate recycling goal has little to do with bottles, cans and cardboard and more to do with flesh and blood.
"We recycle people," Sylvester-Johnson said.
